Produced by Watershed Management Group, 2006, www.watershedmg.

org
*Equations from: Lancaster, Brad. 2006. Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Vol.1.Rainsource Press.


Calculating Runoff for Water Harvesting

You can estimate the volume of runoff from rainfall for any surface on your property.
Calculating runoff is an important step in designing your water harvesting system. You should
determine both your water supply and your water demand. Use this worksheet to determine your
rainwater supply.

Useful Definitions:
1. Catchment Area: the area in which rain directly falls (i.e. a roof, a driveway, or a
landscape). The area is the same regardless of slope; you can also think of the area as
seen from a birds-eye view or as the horizontal surface space occupied.

2. Runoff Coefficient: the average percentage of rainfall that will run off a particular surface
(i.e. a metal roof has a runoff coefficient of 0.95 or 95% runoff). The runoff coefficient
will vary depending on the composition of the surface and the rainfall intensity. The
higher the rainfall intensity, the higher the runoff coefficient.

3. Annual Rainfall: the average amount of rainfall over one year period for your location.

Runoff Coefficients for the Southwest United States

Surface Runoff Range
ROOF 0.80 0.95 (Metal: 0.95, Concrete/asphalt: 0.90, Builtup
tar/gravel: 0.85 0.80)
PAVING (concrete, asphalt) 0.90 1.00
BARE SOIL (flat) 0.20 0.75
SOIL WITH VEGETATION (flat) 0.10 0.60
GRASS/LAWN 0.05 0.35
GRAVEL Use the coefficient of the ground below the gravel

*Chart adapted from 1) Lancaster, Brad. 2006. Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Vol.1.Rainsource Press and 2)
Waterfall, Patricia. 2006. Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use 2
nd
Ed. Pima County Cooperative Extension.

1. CALCULATE YOUR CATCHMENT AREA

Rectangular Catchment Area:
Length of area (ft) x width of area (ft) = catchment area (ft
2
)

1a) Roof: _____________ (ft) x _____________ (ft) = ________________ (ft
2
)
length width catchment area

1b) Driveway: _____________ (ft) x _____________ (ft) = _______________(ft
2
)
length width catchment area

1c) Soil/landscape: ____________(ft) x ___________ (ft) = ______________ (ft
2
)
length width catchment area
Produced by Watershed Management Group, 2006, www.watershedmg.org
*Equations from: Lancaster, Brad. 2006. Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Vol.1.Rainsource Press.


2. CALCULATE ANNUAL RUNOFF FOR EACH CATCHMENT AREA

General Equation:
catchment area (ft
2
) x rainfall (ft) x 7.48 gal/ft
3
x runoff coefficient = net runoff (gal)

Use the Runoff Coefficient Chart to make an educated guess on the runoff coefficient for each.

2a) Roof:

_____________ (ft
2
) x _______ (ft) x 7.48 gal/ft
3
x _________ = _________ (gal)
catchment area rainfall coefficient net runoff

2b) Driveway:

_____________ (ft
2
) x _______ (ft) x 7.48 gal/ft
3
x _________ = _________ (gal)
catchment area rainfall coefficient net runoff

2c) Bare Soil or Landscape:

_____________ (ft
2
) x _______ (ft) x 7.48 gal/ft
3
x _________ = _________ (gal)
catchment area rainfall coefficient net runoff


3. CALCULATE RUNOFF FROM A LARGE STORM (3 INCHES OR 0.25 FT)

The equation for calculating runoff from a storm is the same as annual runoff, just substitute the
storm rainfall amount for annual rainfall.

3a) Roof:

____________ (ft
2
) x __0.25__ (ft) x 7.48 gal/ft
3
x _________ = _________ (gal)
catchment area rainfall coefficient net runoff

3b) Driveway:

____________ (ft
2
) x __0.25__ (ft) x 7.48 gal/ft
3
x _________ = _________ (gal)
catchment area rainfall coefficient net runoff

3c) Bare Soil or Landscape:

____________ (ft
2
) x __0.25__ (ft) x 7.48 gal/ft
3
x _________ = _________ (gal)
catchment area rainfall coefficient net runoff